Set in the near future, the world is facing a crisis of doomsday proportions due to the severe lack of energy and oil available. With chaos and utter collapse of cities and society everywhere, two factions have formed who battle one another for the last remaining energy resources on the planet.
Players take on the role of a soldier from the Western Coalition as they battle the Red Star Alliance which is comprised of Russia and China. As the game starts, players enter a battle in a desolate area which is one of the last remaining sources of oil, and as such, is hotly contested by both sides. Using mission objectives, players battle to various areas of the map to defeat enemy troops and obtain strategic objectives.
Along the way, all manner of high end weapons and vehicles are available for use, and I particularly enjoyed the flying drone unit, that when deployed, allowed me to fly it to a strategic point in the enemy’s defenses and detonate with spectacular results.
As the game unfolds, new weapons and vehicles become available such as helicopters and while objectives have to be achieved to progress, the game for the most part, allows players to play the game in a non-linear style.
The campaign portion of the game is fairly short as there are roughly 8 campaigns for players to complete. Thankfully, the game has a highly enjoyable multiplay mode that allows gamers to work with or against one another in campaigns. I really enjoyed the combat in a destroyed city, where my squad and I had to control strategic places on the map. Being able to rush to a locale, defend it, or attack enemy units on foot or in a vehicle provided a nice compliment to the solo play portion of the game.
Graphically the game is solid, and has some very smooth and highly detailed graphics, that really help immerse players in the setting. The sound effects and voice acting in the game are solid as well, and really do a nice job of capturing the chaos of the action.
The game does have some issues though as aside from a large install of over 4 Gigs, the game had some annoying crashes and lockups at various times in both solo and multiplay mode.
The real strength of the game is the multiplayer component and thanks to that, Frontlines: Fuel of War is an effective and enjoyable shooter, that is ideal for fans of urban warfare as well as team based combat. I was thrilled at the variety of weapons and vehicles as well as the way the designers allowed me to craft my own strategies for success, rather than make me follow a narrow pathway, which has become all to standard in many games of the genre.
4 stars out of 5
